MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior righty Nathan Furino (East Haven) allowed two runs over five innings and the No. 13 Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team broke open a tight game by scoring five runs in the bottom of the eighth in a 9-2 Little East Conference victory over Keene State College Wednesday evening at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
 
Eastern (28-9, 11-3 LEC) left 14 runners on base but pushed across enough runs to send Keene (13-23, 3-11 LEC) to its 12^th consecutive loss. Ranked fifth in New England, Eastern had lost four of its last six heading into the contest but improved to 14-4 at home this year in completing a season sweep of Keene that gave the Warriors seven straight victories over the Owls.
 
Keene reached Furino (5-2) for single runs in the second and third innings when it collected six of its eight hits off the starter to take a 2-0 lead, but senior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) lashed his 12^th home run of the season – 36^th of his career – to get a run back for the Warriors with two out in the third. Junior leftfielder Josh Cofrancesco (Southington) tied the game for Eastern with a sacrifice fly in the fifth and senior third baseman Brent Cosculluela's (Miami) two-out RBI single to center on the first pitch that he saw from losing pitcher Jack Lang gave Eastern the lead for good, 3-2.
 

With Eastern leading 4-2, Keene had an opportunity to tie or go ahead after Josh Beayon and Shea Zina singled off Eastern junior righty Finn Doherty (Milton, MA) with one out, but Otis Follet grounded into a fielder's choice on the first pitch he saw from Doherty, who closed the inning and left two runners aboard by getting a three-pitch strikeout of pinch hitter Junior Santos. Doherty allowed only two hits in three shutout innings, fanning six without a walk (34 strikeouts, three walks this year)  and junior righty Bryan Dinnis (Portland) lowered his ERA in 11 innings to 1.64 by tossing a scoreless ninth.
 
Sophomore centerfielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) hit safely in his 13^th straight game with an infield single in the two-run fifth, a one-out single in the seventh and a two-run double in the five-run eighth. Leonzi came around to score after each of his hits. Junior righfielder Jason Claiborn (Prospect) recorded his team-leading 16^th multiple-hit game of the year with leadoff singles in the fifth (bunt) and eighth innings, scoring each time, and extending his on-base streak to ten. Senior second baseman Noah Plantamuro (Bristol) had a hit in his ninth straight game when he legged out a ground ball to shortstop. He also drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth. Cosculluela also had two hits in Eastern's 11-hit attack.
 
The Warriors batted around in their five-run eighth inning that was aided by three walks, two wild pitches and two hit batsmen. A wild pitch plated the first run, Leonzi's double sent in two more, Plantamuro delivered the fourth run with his HBP and Cosculluela came home on junior shortstop Zach Donahue's (South Windsor) ground ball.  
 
Furino pitched at least five innings for the fourth time in as many starts this season. He fanned five and walked one and has now struck out 38 and walked only five in 34 2/3 innings this season. His fifth strikeout that ended the fourth inning was his 100^th of his 42-game career. He has walked only 15 batters in those innings.
 
Eighteen freshmen comprise the Keene roster, seven of them whom were in the starting lineup, among them pitcher Dan Cantafi. The first of nine pitchers to see action in the game, Cantafi pitched one shutout inning, with Jack Lang, the fifth pitcher, sustaining the loss when he gave up two runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings.
 
Eastern closes out its regular-season home schedule Thursday in a non-conference game at 5 p.m. against Western New England University. The Warriors close out the regular season Friday with a noon doubleheader at the University of Massachusetts Boston, needing one victory to clinch the No. 2 seed in next week's Little East tournament at top-seeded Rhode Island College.